


Wind to Fire

by Lanerose



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Don't copy to another site, F/M, Gap Filler, Post-Episode 33, Pre-Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-01
Updated: 2019-01-01
Packaged: 2019-10-01 04:59:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,066
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17237852
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lanerose/pseuds/Lanerose
Summary: Currently, the Gentleman controls a vast empire for less-than-strictly-legal transportation from the Evening Nip in Zadash.  Twenty years ago, however... that is another story, isn't it?





	Wind to Fire

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sarahdoodles](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sarahdoodles/gifts).



> "Absence is to love what wind is to fire - it extinguishes the small, it inflames the great." ~ Roger de Bussy-Rabutin
> 
> A very happy Critmas to Sarahdoodles! Hope that your new year brings you all the best!!

_The Gentleman was sitting down to lunch in the Evening Nip not long after the Mighty Nein departed for the Ivory Coast when a sudden burst of sending from Jester interrupted what had, to that point, been a perfectly normal day._

_“Oh my god, oh my god, is your name Babenon Dosal?  Do you – have you ever been to the Menagerie Coast?  Oh my god, do – “_

_The sending cut off, and the memories rushed in…_

~

Babenon Dosal sailed into Nicodranus on an otherwise unremarkable Whelsen the week before Elvendawn.  He ordered the unloading of his merchandise for Miresen’s Artisan’s Faire, directing the small number of artisans whom they had ferried along to collect their goods and instructing his men to make sure to acquire the rights for a general merchant’s stall.  The prior year at Port Damali, his then-Quartermaster had gone for a drink at the pub before getting a stall, and they’d nearly missed out entirely. 

“We’ll not be repeating that mistake this year, oh no!” said Babenon as he waved his new Quartermaster off the boat.  He strolled off the ship, following his Quartermaster until he watched her enter the main commerce hall.  Once he was inside, he stopped and sighed, only to be jostled forward by someone in the crowd.

“Oh, excuse me!” a melodic alto voice called to him.  He looked up, and there, staring at him from under a hooded brown cloak, was the most gorgeous woman he had ever seen.  She was a tiefling, her skin as red as a fresh-picked apple or strawberry.  The scent of lavender clung to her, ever so gently, and her hand, as placed it on his, was as smooth as the finest silk Babenon had ever touched.

“Hmph,” said a rough voice, and when Babenon turned to look, there, behind the woman, was a massive, sharp-horned minotaur wearing an oddly elegant shirt and not much else.  From this angle in particular, the view was disconcerting.

“It’s all right, Blude,” said the woman, “this was my fault, stand down. Here, let me help you up.”

She slid her hand over his so that they were palm-to-palm and pulled gently. Babenon rose as gracefully as he could, dusting himself off quickly.

“I would apologize,” he said quietly, “but I think I should probably be thanking you and the heavens both for giving me the chance to be bowled over by you so completely.”

She laughed, a rich sound that sparkled like diamonds in the light.

“Babenon Dosal, at your service, madam,” he said, bowing careful and kissing the hand that he had yet to let go.  “May I ask the name of my rescuer?”

“Does it count as rescue if I endanger you in the first place?” she replied, her eyes smiling.  “Marion Lavorre, Mr. Dosal.  A pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

“I assure you,” he all but purred, “the pleasure is all mine.  May I buy you a drink, Marion?”

“Hmph.”

“It’s fine, Blude,” Marion said, waving idly at the minotaur.  She turned back to him with a soft blush.  “I would like that, Babenon.  I would… like that very much.”

~

They had a drink, which quickly became two.  Two drinks became dinner, and in no time at all it was decided that Babenon should not have to go to the trouble of finding his ship in an unfamiliar port, Babenon’s protests that all ports are alike notwithstanding.

It did not take long for Marion to lead him to her home.  The beautiful building was labeled “The Lavish Chateau” in elegantly-styled cursive lettering, made of a finely wrought gold. It was not, strictly speaking, the sort of place that Babenon could regularly afford to spend the night.

“Oh, a new customer for the Ruby?” asked a comparatively short human with overly-oiled dark hair and a simpering smile as Marion pulled Babenon through the door.

“No, Louis,” Marion replied with a hum, “this one, I take for myself.”

“Ah.”  The man’s eyes frosted over as his smile became more simpering still.  “Anything for my Ruby, I suppose.”

“Yes, thank you, Louis!” Marion caroled, clutching Babenon’s pale blue hand in her fierce red one and leading him up a flight of stairs.

~

Babenon thanked the blessed goddess Ova that he and his ship had been scheduled to be in port at Nicodranus for three weeks, allowing him plenty of time to spend with Marion.  Each day, she came to him in the marketplace, and each day, he went with her back to her chateau.  She had a kindness and a light inside her that seemed infinite in measure, as capable of captivating a room as her singing voice was.  Her shape was certainly comely enough, and Babenon had never known a more skillful lover.  But of all her myriad talents, what he liked best was the sound of her laughter.

“Can I borrow a kiss,” he would say to her, “I promise I’ll give it back.”

Or:

“I got lost in your eyes,” with a rueful chuckle, “but I get lost in the market square, so don’t think it makes you special.

Or once, when she tripped:

“Be careful,” he said, setting her on her feet and running one hand gently down her cheek, “if you’re going to fall at all, you should fall in love with me.”

And she laughed, like sunlight.  Like the twinkling of the stars in the heavens, there to guide his vessel on its way.  Like the taste of fresh-baked bread after months of nothing but worm-ridden hard tack. Like the bubbles of champagne, tingling up into his nose with fizzy delight.  He craved it.

So it was with great reluctance that he set off to sea once more, planning a short run to Port Damali and back.  Just long enough to return his crew home, and then return for a visit. And perhaps the romance would have died by then.  Perhaps he would move on.

~

But it was not to be.

He missed her fiercely every day.  Babenon had never been a great writer, but he found himself bent over finding the words to tell her how absolutely stunning she was.  His crew ribbed each other and poked fun at him, and he could not even complain as he counted the minutes and urged them to move the ship faster towards his preferred port of Nicodranus.

He returned, and headed straight for the Lavish Chateau, where Marion was already waiting for him, her eyes brimming with enthusiasm.

“I have something to tell you,” said Marion, pulling him into her room excitedly.  “Or perhaps, more show, than tell.”

“Darling, I’m all ears,” he replied, “or eyes, as the case may be.”

She laughed.  She shut the door behind them, closing Blude out, and gestured for him to sit on the bed, which he did.  She came and sat beside him.

“The doctor confirmed it today,” Marion said, sliding his hand over to her stomach.

Babenon’s eyes widened involuntarily.  “Really?”

“Yes,” said Marion, “And you should know, I take precautions with all my clientele.  It was only – I was so very excited to have you, that you know we were perhaps not always as careful as we should be.”

“Well, I suppose that’s one way to put it,” he replied drolly, but with a smile, and was rewarded with laughter like peaches and cream.

“I – “ She paused, biting her lip just a bit, and tilting her head away. “Babenon, I want – “

“Shhh, darling, I know,” Babenon said.  He leaned down and kissed her gently, then brought his lips forward further still to her ear.  “I missed you so much I resorted to poetry, and I will never be a bard.  I cannot offer you a chateau, or anything even half so grand, but – if you will have me, there is no other hand I would prefer to have in mine.”

Marion wrapped her arms around him.  “Oh Babenon!”

“Marion!”

They kissed, first gently, and then with greater urgency.  Babenon’s hands slid up to Marion’s breasts, her hands reaching for the buttons on his shirt, as they lost themselves in one another.

~

In the following days, one evening, Louis, who Babenon had since learned managed the Lavish Chateau, pulled him aside as he descended the stairs from the Ruby’s room.

“I know what you are doing,” he said, “and I will not let you take my best employee from me.”

Babenon smirked.  “She is only yours as long as she chooses to be, and I think we both know that she will be choosing something different shortly.”

“Not if she knows what’s good for you both, she won’t,” Louis replied, and lightning quick, an arm reached out from behind Babenon and placed a blade against his throat. 

“Blude…?”

“Hmph.”

“You see,” Louis said, “I have an investment in Marion, and I intend to keep it.”

“Her seeming spells can only fool the customers for so long – even you must know that a pregnant courtesan, or one with a child, will be of no interest to her customers.”

“Yes,” Louis replied, “and wouldn’t it be a pity if she were to accidentally lose her child before it got to that point, eh, Blude?”

“Hmph.”

“Blude!” Babenon started to turn in Blude’s grasp, but the blade eked closer to his neck, drawing blood.

“Now, I’m not a monster,” said Louis.  “It’s clear that the Ruby wants her child, and an illness can explain away the last months of pregnancy easily enough.  But the Ruby is the brightest gem in my collection, and you will not plunder her from me.  And if you try, well…  As I said, it would be terrible if she lost her child, wouldn’t it?”

Babenon spit in Louis’s face, uncaring of the cut at his throat as the knife edged deeper.

“My crew will not stand for this,” Babenon said.  “I will see you hanged.”

“You could, I suppose,” Louis replied, “but then I would just have to make sure to take my Ruby with me, wouldn’t I, Blude?”

Babenon scowled.  “And you say you’re not a monster.”

“Yes, well, needs must,” he replied.  “I think you should take a long journey, Captain.  A long, long journey.  And if you are lucky, in a few decades, I may even call you back for a visit.”

~

“I’m sorry, my love,” Babenon said, kissing her knuckles on first one hand, then the other as Blude loomed over them from the corner.  “I must take care of some business on the ocean.  I will return as soon as I can.”

His Marion reached out and pulled him in closer, kissing him deeply. 

“A reminder not to take too long,” she said, “and something you can look forward to upon your return.”

“With a reward like that, I would not dare to delay,” he replied, plucking a ring from his finger and placing it upon hers.  “Something to remember me by until then.”

He kissed her again, softly, and turned away.  At the foot of the stairs, Louis gave him a sharp-eyed nod. Babenon walked out of the Lavish Chateau for what he presumed would be the last time.  At the gate, he glanced up to Marion’s window.  She had drawn the curtain back and waved to him as she went, one hand resting gently on her stomach.  He waved back.

Then he turned, and Babenon was gone.

~

It took some time to build up a reputation as a smuggler.  He started small.  Once the pathways were secure, he started to bring bigger items first, and then, eventually, people.  But Nicodranus – ah, Nicodranus was a hard nut to crack, and the Lavish Chateau even more so.  Marion never left it, now, and there was no word of their child.  But then, there wouldn’t be, would there?  And so time slipped by.

~

He took lovers over the years between.  Of course he did.  She was, Louis would see to that, so why should he abstain?  And yet…

~

_A second burst of sending interrupted his musings._

_“Hello Gentleman.  This is Jester.  Please respond – just yes – if you’ve – seen – the Ruby.  Please.  Is that twenty?  Oh! Ah!  Shit!  Balls!”_

_A hand on his shoulder drew the Gentleman’s attention back to the world around him._

_“Gentleman?” said Cree, approaching with her hands twisting up in one another.  “Is everything all right?  Has something gone wrong?”_

_“No,” he replied, “that’s preposterous.”_

**Author's Note:**

> Given that tieflings have a basically slightly-longer-than-human lifespan, and that Laura seemed honestly surprised when Matt said "decades ago" in this episode and forced him to clarify that he could just meant "two," I'm inclined to think that Jester is perhaps twenty years old, or maybe a little older than that, but not much. We know that the Gentleman has been in Zadash for the better part of fifteen years, so globally, I think the timeline works out right. Anyway!
> 
> The Lavish Chateau may be a reference to the Chateau Louis XIV, which is (by all accounts) a ridiculous lavish chateau/palace that has a blue and white motif (like CritRole's Lavish Chateau) and was the most expensive house ever sold as of December 2017. Given the French naming connections of the characters in the Chateau (i.e., Marion, Nadine), Louis therefore seemed like a good choice for the name of Marion's pimp.
> 
> Ova is a trickery domain goddess whose special area is lovers that I pulled from the D&D Homebrew Wiki because she fit the circumstances.
> 
> Thanks for reading! <3


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